On our How To Write A Christian Testimony page, we quote Charles Spurgeon, who uses the phrase “singing in the night” as a metaphor for giving your testimony:
“Try and sing in the night, Christian, for that is one of the best arguments in the entire world in favor of your religion … I tell you, we may preach fifty thousand sermons to prove the gospel, but we will not prove it half as well as you will by singing in the night.”
Why then would we refrain from testifying of God’s goodness and grace in our lives? If you’re guilty of this — as we all are at some point — examine your heart to see which of these five reasons might be the culprit, and ask God to help you overcome by the power of His Spirit:
1. Your Fear Of Man Is Greater Than Your Fear Of God
Most of us struggle with the fear of rejection. We don’t want anyone to turn away from us, to insult us, to make us feel small or foolish. But Jesus says:
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. — Matthew 10:32-33
Fear of man is a problem for many of us. But the true disciple of Christ will ask for strength from Christ’s Spirit to overcome this. We know that God has saved us from a worse fate (hell) than anything that man could do to us — certainly worse than being mocked, ridiculed or ignored.
2. You Think Your Testimony Is Boring
As our pastor Daniel Montgomery says:
“You might say, “I don’t have one of those crazy stories, like from drug lord to ‘Jesus is Lord.’ But that’s lame. Shame on you for not believing that you have a testimony.
Every testimony is a tribute to God’s power. It’s only by God’s power that we step out of death into life, that we are transfered out of darkness into the kingdom of light, with God’s son Jesus Christ. We need to pray for the wisdom to communicate that.”
You Think People Would Rather Hear Facts/Apologetics
Apologetics is an important field of study, but many who reject Christ do so out of personal experience and reasons that go much deeper than an analysis of facts (we aren’t machines or disembodied brains, after all). Returning to Spurgeon’s quote above, your testimony may be a more powerful argument for Christ than all the intellectual arguments in the world.
You Think You’ve Told It Enough
If there is one thing we shouldn’t be timid about, it is our testimony of what God has done for us through His Son. This doesn’t mean you recount the same story in the same way to the same neighbor every time you see her watering her flowers. Wisdom is in order here. But we should be people of whom others say, “He always gives God credit for everything.”
You’re Pretending To Be Perfect
If this describes you, let me relieve you of a great burden: everyone over the age of ten knows you’re not perfect. Most people who spend much time around you probably see your flaws to a greater extent than you think they do. The more you try to hide your sin, your failings, your weaknesses, your afflictions and your mistakes, the more you will be consumed by them. Your weakness will take an increasingly larger place in your life. But Paul says.
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. — 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Although commentators disagree what this “thorn in the flesh” was (and endless speculation is unfruitful) the majority of commentators feel it was some kind of illness or physical affliction. Paul could have been embarrassed about this. He could have imagined people gossiping, “He’s supposed to have worked miracles. His God is supposed to be all powerful. But why then can he not simply pray about the sickness? Why can’t God heal him?”
Ditch the coverup. God’s Word commands us to confess our sins to other believers (James 5:16) and to live openly as redeemed sons and daughters of God. And to the extent that our imperfections stem from infirmities or circumstances beyond our power, God can give you a powerful testimony of how His grace shines through you, in spite of your circumstance.
“Shhh!” photo by Robert D. Brooks, used via Creative Commons license